Federal official praises Corzine for trying to raise transportation funds

A Bush administration official praised Gov. Jon Corzine today for having the "courage" to propose steeply higher tolls that would provide funds for transportation projects like an $8 billion commuter rail tunnel under the Hudson River.

James Simpson, the administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, said his agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation support the tunnel, which he called a project of national significance. But he warned it can't proceed unless New Jersey puts up its share of the cost, and that means getting the state Transportation Trust Fund back on sound footing.

"New Jersey's transportation fund, as far as we're concerned, is on financial life support and threatens the receipt of billions of federal dollars for transportation improvements," Simpson said during the annual Governor's Transportation Conference, a Trenton gathering hosted by the New Jersey Alliance for Action. Corzine also spoke at the event.

The new rail tunnel would double the number of commuters NJ Transit could carry between New Jersey and Manhattan on the Northeast Corridor. Corzine said he considers it New Jersey's top transportation priority.

"The Northeast Corridor is one of the great competitive advantages we have as a state, and we need to take care of it," Corzine said.

Simpson said his agency will be looking closely at the state's finances before it agrees to provide $3 billion toward the project, officially known as Access to the Region's Core.

"The legislature has to move to get the Transportation Trust Fund moving so you can get up to $3 billion," he said. "Without that, it's a no-start, not a new start."

Corzine has proposed creating a non-profit public benefits company to operate the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway and the Atlantic City Expressway. The company would be able to borrow up to $40 billion against the revenue it would generate with sharply higher tolls, Corzine believes, and that money would be used to pay down state debt and replenish the Transportation Trust Fund.

Simpson, a Bush appointee, added: "I want to congratulate Governor Corzine for having the courage to try to solve the financing puzzle so New Jersey can actually make meaningful choices about its future rather than be hamstrung by crushing debt and crumbling infrastructure."